You cannot expect an employer to be interested in you just because you have
a specific certification, in the same way that you cannot expect a company
to hire you just because you have a specific degree.
There are many things other than technical skills that an employer looks at.
1. Does the employee's resume catch their eye? Is it sloppy? Is there a
problem with any of the wording? When you are employed in the networking
field, you normally do not just sit in a dark room and configure routers
all of the time. For the higher end positions, there are written
proposals, network design drawings, presentations, reports, etc. You must
be capable of communicating in a professional manner, and your resume and
cover letter will leave a first impression with the potential employer of
these skills.
2. Unfortunately for alot of newbies in the networking field, employers
know that alot of times, certifications just prove that a candidate can
memorize a bunch of facts. Because of the boom in the certification study
guide industry, it is possible to memorize a book, and have a decent chance
of passing the CCNP exam without ever touching the equipment. The CCIE and
other similar tests that include lab examinations are often the best type
of certification that prove that you have expert level hands-on knowledge.
I worked with a gentlemen in the past that had his Novell CNE, CCNA, CCDA
and MCSE. He was good at memorizing facts and taking exams. He was hired
into a company because of those credentials. The management found out,
however, that he could not solve technical problems, and was a drain on the
rest of the staff because he was constantly bothering his fully employees
for help with what should have been simple issues. The next time the
management team goes to hire someone, they will not immediately bring the
employee on board based on having specific certifications, because they
have learned their lesson the hard way.
3. If you get the employer's attention, and get a chance to interview with
the company, you are not necessarily being judged on your technical
knowledge during that interview. You are being judged on how you present
yourself. Anytime that I am preparing to be interviewed, I read a book
called "Sweaty Palms". It explains a little about the psychology behind
the interview process, both what you are going through, and what the
interviewer is thinking when speaking to you.
4. Do not expect the employer to just give you the job because you've
gotten to the interview, and have a certification. You have to present
yourself professionally throughout the entire process, and sell yourself to
the employer on your entire self, education, technical skills, project
management, organization, writing abilities, presentation skills, etc. The
company doesn't want someone with just a piece of paper behind them, they
want a well rounded, reliable, competent employee.
5. If you do not have the job and work experience to back up your education
and certification, you should not expect employers to bring you in at the
senior levels of their staff. I started out, like you, working as a
computer lab consultant for a major university. I worked hard while there,
and after two years, was promoted to Assistant Lab Supervisor, and was in
charge of maintaining all of LAN cabling up to the Access Router, the PC's,
and the Printers. The pay was so low that I could no longer afford to
attend college, and had to leave to work full time. I used that experience
to get me a job as a contract PC Technician.
While a contractor, I concentrated on software, learned alot about NT and
Windows. I used that experience to get my foot in the door as a Technical
Support Specialist for a worldwide distributor of networking and
communications equipment for small to medium businesses. They hired me
because they were looking for someone with NT knowledge. I then was
introduced to networking equipment, and worked with equipment from Cisco,
Nortel/Bay, 3Com, etc. I was the first person at the company to get the
CCDA (it was actually called the CDS, Cisco Design Specialist, at that
time). I later got the CCNA certification a few months after it came out.
I used those certifications, and my previous knowledge to get in the door
of a manufacturer of high speed voice and data networking equipment. They
were looking for someone specifically with Cisco hands-on experience, as
well as a general networking background with LAN's/WAN's. I worked my way
to become a Senior Technical Support Engineer with that company.
Unfortunately, I was off track on reaching the goal of CCIE, so I had to
move on to a company that would assist me with the process.
The moral of the story is, I took low paying jobs at the beginning of my
career, I couldn't afford to eat at times, but I put in my time at the low
end of the pool, and did not expect to skip steps in my career advancement.
I moved from one company to the next to get the proper balance of
experience to complement my skills and expertise.
However, the thing that got me ahead the most was my desire to be the best
employee that I could at every company that I've worked at. That is the
one thing that I can show on my resume, demonstrate in an interview, and
show every minute of every day that I am employed with a company, once they
have brought me on board.
Do not get frustrated with the certification not having any weight.
*YOU* have to be the weight behind the certification.
Good luck!
At 07:42 PM 1/8/01 -0800, park jeongwoo wrote:
>Hi group members.
>I need your help.
>I am having a hard time on finding a job.
>I recently got ccnp certification and looking for the
>entry level of job for network engineer.
>I am living in San Francisco, and graduated from
>college less than a year ago.
>I have less than a year of network experience that I
>got from school computer lab.
>I had a harder time finding a job before I became
>ccnp. So I studied hard believing that ccnp would get
>me somewhere at least as a entry level network
>engineer. Now I am kind of confused and disappointed
>with the fact that I am still having a hard time
>finding a job even with ccnp certification.
>I feel like I need more cisco certifications such as
>ccda, ccdp.
>Would these certification ever help me find job?
>It is really discouraging that cisco certification
>doesn�t help me much find a job at this point, because
>I am also pursuing ccie too. I have to ask myself what
>is the point of getting cisco certification.
>Lots of CCNAs are having a job. Why not ccnp?
>
>Could somebody tell me why it goes like this, and what
>I should do?
>Am I looking for wrong job?
>
>I will appreiciate your input.
>
>jeongwoo
>
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